Joseph Parker knocked out last-minute stand-in Martin Bakole in the second round on Saturday night after a heroic effort.
All the odds were stacked against the brave Congolese heavyweight, who stepped in on two days’ notice to fight Parker when Daniel Dubois pulled out of their IBF heavyweight title fight with a viral infection.
Organisers scrambled for a replacement with Lawrence Okolie, David Adeleye and Mourad Aliev all contacted to step in.
But Bakole got the call after his trainer and manager Billy Nelson campaigned tirelessly for the fight on social media.
The 33-year-old was in Congo when he got the green light from boxing mogul Turki Alalshikh and jumped on a 3,8000-mile flight on the same day to Saudi Arabia.
Bakole’s journey was so long it required three connecting flights.
He first flew from Congo to Ethiopia, then to Dubai, before finally landing in the Middle East in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It was always going to be a big ask for Bakole to pull off an upset but his fans were left dreaming of a sensational turnaround.
Those dreams were shattered by a dynamite right hand that caught Bakole on the top of the head in the second round, which sent him tumbling to the canvas.
To his credit, Bakole made his way back to his feet, although he was caught on unsteady legs, prompting his trainer Nelson to make the compassionate call to throw in the towel.
In doing so, Parker successfully retained his WBO ‘interim’ title before showing his class in the immediate aftermath.
Paying tribute to Bakole for saving the card, Parker said post-fight: “Martin Bakole thank you very much for accepting the challenge and flying all the way here.
Parker remains the WBO ‘interim’ heavyweight championMatchroomMORE TO FOLLOW
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